Knocked Up
by insertsnarkhere
Summary: A bundle of joy is expected at the mansion and everyone is handling the news in surprising and not so surprising ways. COMPLETE!
1. Late for What?

Summary: A bundle of joy is expected at the mansion and everyone is handling the news in surprising and not-so surprising ways.

Disclaimer: Property of Marvel and Fox and Stan Lee and blah blah blah...

* * *

He was sitting on the edge of her bed, his knee shaking up and down. Nothing could calm him down, even the usually soothing sound of his lighter was getting on his nerves.

_What was taking her so long?_

She had been in the bathroom for over half an hour. He heard the toilet flush twenty minutes ago. It couldn't take that long for results...could it?

God, was it only three hours ago that he thought his life was so normal?

He had been sitting in the rec room with Peter, laughing at the metal man who was trying to tell a dirty joke. But Peter was blushing so hard that when it was time to say the punch line, he could only mumble the last part out.

Then she came in, looking nervous and harried.

"I have to talk to you," she said, gripping his arm and hauling him out of the couch he was sitting in.

_Jesus Christ, when did she get so strong?_

She didn't loosen her grip until they were outside, under the maple tree they had used to meet at when they wanted to sneak out of the mansion. When they had reached their destination, she let go of his arm but started to fidget on her feet and fiddle with his collar.

"Rogue? What's going on?"

She just buried her face into his neck, arms wrapping tightly around him. He held her, not knowing what else to do.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm late."

He thought she was going to say more than that two-word statement but when she didn't say anything else, he asked, "Late for what?"

She pushed away from him angrily. "God, John! Stop acting stupid!"

"I'm not acting! I am genuinely and most definitely not clear on what exactly you're late for."

"I'm not late for a fucking meeting, asshole! I'm late! My period! I'm seven days late!"

After that, he doesn't remember much.

Maybe he got on the bus, maybe he walked into the drugstore, maybe he grabbed the first five pregnancy tests off the shelves, maybe he thought about punching the check-out clerk when the asshole gave him a knowing smirk, maybe he got back on the bus holding that damn plastic bag in his lap like a friggin' old lady holding her purse, and maybe he ran into Logan when he got back to the mansion and thought he was going to die clutching a plastic bag full of pregnancy tests in his hand.

_Oh God, please, let it be negative...let it be negative...let it be negative..._

His mental chant to himself was doing nothing to calm his nerves. He had to do something, anything.

He got up off the bed and knocked on the bathroom door. "Rogue? What's going on? Rogue?"

He pressed his ear against the door but couldn't hear anything. It was silent...too silent. He tried the knob and was surprised that it opened easily. Now he couldn't remember if she had even locked it.

He stepped inside the tiny bathroom and found her sitting in the empty bathtub, staring at the plastic sticks in her hand. She didn't say anything, just sat there, staring at the results.

"Rogue?" He knelt down beside the tub. It was only when he ran his fingers through her hair that she turned and looked at him.

"I'm pregnant." She had whispered it so quietly, he thought he didn't hear her properly. But the fear and tears in her eyes told him he did hear what he thought he heard.

He repressed all the urges to scream and yell, to place blame, to walk away with no thoughts of regret...

No, he couldn't do any of that. Not when she looked at him with those big brown doe eyes, looking shocked and scared and completely lost.

_Fuck._

That was all the anger he allowed himself. If he dwelled on it any more than that, he would drive himself crazy, let rage and resentment fester at him. He didn't want to be that guy.

He got into the tub with her, making her drop the plastic sticks onto the tile floor. He shifted her body so that she laid on top of him. She let out a small sigh when he wrapped his arms around her. He felt her gloved fingers digging into his back

"I want to keep it," she said, muffled against his shoulder. "I want to have the baby."

He closed his eyes, that urge to walk away was back, stronger, more demanding.

"John?" she said again in that same small scared voice she used moments ago.

He opened his eyes, looking down at her upturned face. "We'll have to think of some names..."

Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

* * *

A/N #1: I know some things were left a little vague in this chapter but it'll all be addressed in later chapters. Patience is a virtue.

A/N #2: Yeah, I know...WTF, right? I should be writing the next chapter to _Stop Loss_ but I figure that story will be my angsty fic and this one will be my funny, fluffy fic. Y/Y? Good! \ o /

A/N #3: Oh, almost forgot, big thanks to **Crystal-Luna** for the input!


	2. Saltines and Secrets

A/N: I changed the rating on this story because…well, Jubilee has a dirty dirty mouth and doesn't care what she says out loud. And that probably won't change in the next chapters either. Hee!

* * *

"Oh my God! Rogue! Where are you? You totally missed out on some killer waffles this morning! Never mind that they came out of a box that was probably expired, but they were still damn delicious and hell of a lot better than the usual crap we get for breakfast. Rogue? Are you in there, girl?"

Jubilee opened the door to her friend's room, not even bothering to knock. She looked around the room - the bed was still unmade, her book bag still on the floor.

"Rogue?" she called out again, a little worried now. Then she heard it. In the bathroom, someone was...throwing up?

Jubilee hurried over and yanked opened the door. She wasn't sure what surprised her more: seeing Rogue huddled over the toilet bowl, retching her heart out, or John kneeling next to her, holding her hair back.

"Close the door!" John yelled out, irritated.

"Jesus Christ, what's wrong? Was it the fish last night? Oh, God, please say it wasn't the fish because if it was...I had it last night too! Oh God!"

"Jubilee!"

If she had been thinking rationally at that moment, she would have realized just how close she had been to being burnt to a crisp. "What?"

"Will you shut the fuck up? And close the door!"

"And stop saying 'fish,'" Rogue said, her head still over the bowl.

Jubilee gave them both an annoyed look and shut the door with a shove.

"I meant close the door with you on the other side."

"Whatever, fireboy. Just tell me what's going here. Is it food poisoning or a virus or something? What's the deal?"

Rogue finally lifted her head from the bowl, somehow managing to reach the flush with her eyes closed. "Water..." she mumbled hoarsely.

Jubilee's eyebrows shot up when John immediately got on his feet and handed her the water bottle that had been sitting on the counter. Since when did the pyromaniac start taking orders? And from a girl?

"You want some saltines? Dr McCoy said they would help," he murmured to Rogue, sitting down next to her and pushing her hair back from her face.

"Saltines? What are you? Pregnant?" Jubilee said, laughing at her own joke. But she stopped laughing when she saw the blanch look on her friend's face. "Oh my fucking God!"

"Jubilee, I swear to God, if you don't fucking shut up..." John said threateningly.

But all Jubilee could do was to say "Oh my fucking God!" over and over again. She sat down on the tiled floor across from them.

"Listen, Jubes, you can't tell anyone. Besides Dr McCoy, we haven't told anyone else," Rogue said.

"Whoa…whoa...back the information truck up..." Jubilee waved her hands around, as if that would make what she just heard comprehensible. Nope, still failing to compute. "You _are_ Rogue, right? You're not some evil twin I never noticed until now, right? The evil twin who can touch people?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Jubilee..."

"I'm just sayin'. You're Rogue - the girl with the deadly skin and everything. How the hell did you...well, you know...have sex..." Jubilee said the last two words in a whisper, like she was now afraid that someone might overhear her say them out loud. "And I can't believe you had sex and didn't tell me about it! So who was it? I want details. I heard the first time hurts but after that… Oh God, please tell me you didn't do it with…ugh…I don't even want that mental picture in my brain…"

"Jesus Christ..." John said, clearly exasperated.

"Oh my fucking God! You did it with him!!" Jubilee exclaimed, pointing to John. But then said more calmly with a thoughtful expression, "Hmm…well, I guess out of all the boys, you picked the right one. He looks like he would be absolutely filthy in bed. Like he could go all night…"

"Oh God…" Rogue groaned, burying her face in her hands.

John just looked dumbfounded at what Jubilee had just said about him. He wondered briefly if he should be nervous about the way Jubilee kept looking up and down at him. "Uh…thank you?"

"You're welcome. So you're the father, huh? Wait a minute…I thought you were with Bobby!"

"Bobby?"

"Yes, Bobby. Remember him? Yea high, blonde hair, blue eyes...does that weird thing with ice... That dude... And you still haven't answered my other question about the whole no-touchy-me thing."

"Jubilee, Bobby and I broke up like ages ago. And as for the touching thing...well...it's complicated."

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't Bobby. Not to be judgmental, but being the Iceman and all, he would be so frigid. Like he would just lie there and make you do all the work, you know? I'd want a guy who knows how to dirty talk too."

"I so do not want to listen to this conversation anymore…" John covered his ears with his hands. Rogue tried to stifle her giggles at John's obvious discomfort.

Jubilee though had no qualms about laughing at his discomfort. "Oh, come on, Johnny-boy, you probably know him better than any of us. Don't you think that he wouldn't know what to do with a girl? Like he would be like, 'oh, hey, that's a boob! girls have boobs!'"

Just then, Kitty opened the door and poked her head in. "Hey, you guys, are we having a party in here? What's going on?"

"Nothing," all three of them said at the same time.

Kitty looked from Rogue to John to Jubilee, waiting for somebody, anybody to say something else. Rogue just fiddled with her gloves while John seemed suddenly interested in the tile molding on the walls. Jubilee started to hum quietly to herself. Kitty narrowed her eyes at her. Hmm...AC/DC, if she wasn't mistaken.

And that's when Kitty knew Jubilee knew something big. She only hummed AC/DC when she knew something big.

* * *

They were walking to class when Kitty decided she couldn't take it anymore. "Spill it, Lee. I know you know something."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, quietly humming 'Back in Black' under her breath.

"You're singing AC/DC, dude."

Jubilee stared at her for a moment, realizing her mistake, before exclaiming, "Goddamnit!" She looked up and down the hallway, making sure that no one saw them. She then pulled Kitty into an empty classroom. "Listen, you cannot, CANNOT tell anyone."

"And since when did you start caring about gossip _not _spreading around the mansion?" Kitty crossed her arms, looking very skeptically at her friend.

Jubilee then had a brief moment of flashback right before the four of them finally exited Rogue's bathroom that morning. Rogue had grabbed her arm before she could make it through the doorway, hissing into her ear, "I mean it, Jubilee. Don't tell anyone or I'll tell everyone about your own little secret. And I think you know what secret I'm talking about. The Camaro? Whipped Cream? Flowerbeds? Get the picture?"

"Hello? Jubilation? Anyone home?"

Jubilee snapped back to reality to find Kitty waving her hand in front of her face. "You know what? I can't tell you."

Kitty snorted. "Yeah, right. Like you can keep a secret."

"I mean it, Kitty! I can't tell you! Rogue will kill me!"

"So it has to do with Rogue, huh?"

_Frick, why do I have such a big mouth?_ "No, seriously, it's not that big of deal, okay? Just drop it."

"Dude, you were singing 'Back in Black.' Out of all the AC/DC songs, I know that means it's a very big deal." Kitty thought that Jubilee was seriously going to have an aneurysm, trying desperately to hold onto this secret. Wow, must be really _really_ big. "Okay, okay, don't look so constipated..." Jubilee shot her a dirty look. "So you can't tell me, right? How about if I guess it? Just shake your head yes or no, then you wouldn't be technically telling me the secret, right?"

Jubilee nodded vigorously.

"It has to do with Rogue... Hmm... John was in the bathroom too when I got there... Hmm... Does it have to do with John too?"

Jubilee nodded.

"OK, so Rogue and John... Wait minute, I thought she was seeing Bobby..."

"For Christ's sake! She's frickin' pregnant!!"

* * *

Later that day, Kitty found Peter and dragged him aside.

"I have to tell somebody this or I'm going to burst. You can't tell anyone else though, okay?"

"Uh...okay. What's going on?" Peter leaned toward Kitty who whispered the secret into his ear.

* * *

"You didn't hear it from, okay? And don't tell anyone. If Kitty found out, I told you... I don't even want to think about it."

"You can count on me, Peter," Jones said, giving the bigger boy a thumb's up.

* * *

Logan came back from another tedious scouting assignment for the Professor. He'll have to remember to tell the Professor that nothing ever, EVER happens in Iowa. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing _ever_ happens in that state.

_And if he thinks I'll go back there again...and with frickin' Scott too...well, he better have at least some damn beer on the plane._

Now all Logan wanted to do was take a long hot shower and sleep for the next twelve days. He was making his way to his room when he came up behind Jones and Siryn walking down the same hallway. He couldn't help but listen to their conversation.

"I can't believe it," Siryn said, shaking her head. They were both completely oblivious that they had a third companion.

"Can you imagine? God, there's going to be a baby!"

Logan stifled his groan of horror. _Oh God, that over-grown Boy Scout is multiplying._

"No, I mean, I can't believe its Rogue! Rogue pregnant - I can't even picture it!"

And with that remark, Logan promptly fainted.

* * *

"Logan! Logan! Wake up!"

Logan snapped open his eyes to find himself flat on his back and Storm slapping his cheek. He looked around from his prone position, hoping that he had just imagined what he overheard but no, there they were. Jones and Siryn were standing nearby, looking worried and nervous as all hell.

"What happened? Siryn came running into my office, screaming that you just dropped dead."

"You," he growled, pointing to Jones who became as pale as pale could be. "Did I hear you right? There's going to be baby?"

"Err..."

"Yes or no?"

"Um...yes..."

"Fuckin' hell!"

"Logan!" Storm looked absolutely horrified.

"Oh get over it, Storm. I've got bigger problems than watching my language in front of these kids. Where's Rogue?"

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"Just tell me!"

"Um," Storm started, taking a quick glance at her wristwatch, "she's probably in chemistry class with Jean. Wait...Logan! What's going on?"

He got to his feet and hurried toward Jean's classroom - Storm, Siryn, and Jones following close behind. He slammed open the door, not caring that he had startled the entire class.

Rogue's eyes widened as she realized he was making his way toward her - shoving kids, desks, and chairs out of his way. And he didn't look too pleased to see her either.

"Uh...hi, Logan. What's going on?" She let out a little gasp when he leaned in close, way inside her personal space, and took a sniff of the air around her. He growled softly and swung his gaze around to find the target of his wrath.

"YOU!"

"Aw...shit," John muttered.


	3. Apple Pie Aphrodisiac

John was about to tell Logan to take it easy as the older man made his way toward him, thinking to himself 'so this is how a rabbit feels like just before it gets torn apart ...and, oh yeah, this is going to leave a mark.' Then he realized Logan wasn't reaching for him. He was reaching for the person standing next to him.

"Hey!" Bobby squeaked. John wasn't sure who was more surprised - him or Bobby.

"Logan! What are you doing?" Rogue cried out, desperately hanging onto his arm to stop him from swinging properly. "Logan!"

"Come here, you little shit..." He made a grab for Bobby's leg when the boy stumbled over some chairs trying to get away.

"What is going on here?" The Professor wheeled into the room, taking note of the overturned desks and chairs. Bobby was scrambling away from a furious Logan, Rogue trying to stop his rampage, John looking a little amused and befuddled about the whole situation. Everyone else looked on from the sidelines, either cheering Logan on or yelling at Bobby to look out. "Logan! Stop this right now and tell me what is going on!"

Logan finally managed to get a good grip on Bobby by the scruff of the boy's neck and held him up so high, Bobby was kicking his legs in the air like he was still trying to get away. "This fucking asshole knocked Rogue up!"

And for the first time in his life, the Professor's mind became completely blank. Just completely and utterly blank. "What the..."

"Professor!" Jean cut him off before the Professor could even begin to utter a profanity.

"She's pregnant?" Storm asked incredulously.

"Well, duh! Everyone knows that!" a girl in the classroom called out.

"Jubilee!" Rogue yelled.

"It was Kitty!" Jubilee pointed the finger to the girl standing beside Peter.

Kitty slapped Peter's arm. "Peter, you ass! I told you not to tell anyone!"

"Jones, I'm going to kill you!"

"I only told a couple of people!"

"QUUUUIIIIIIEEEEEETTTTTTT!!" The Professor's voice boomed out so loudly, he actually managed to knock over some of the smaller children to the ground who had been standing nearby. The room became immediately silent. "All right then. Now I would like to see Rogue and John in my office, please."

"Wait...John? I thought _he_," Logan hitched Bobby a little higher off the ground as if he was displaying a prize catch, "was your boyfriend."

"Logan, we broke up five months ago."

"Broke up? I thought we were just taking a break!"

"What part of I-think-we-should-see-other-people did you not understand, Bobby? It's been five months! Is this why people keep thinking we're still together? Have you been telling them that we were just taking 'break'?"

"Well...I...I...thought...uh..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, save it for later, Drake," Logan said, releasing Bobby who then came crashing down on the floor and landing rather ungracefully on his ass. "So if he's not the father, then why the hell did I smelt him on ya?"

"He let me wear his sweater earlier this morning, Logan. That's all."

"So he's _not_ the father?"

"No," Rogue answered patiently as if she were speaking to a small child.

"Okay then."

"Okay?" Bobby said, rubbing his sore bottom while getting to his feet. "You're okay with this? How come you're okay with him impreg...OW!"

Logan slapped the back of Bobby's head and then looked at the boy innocently. "Oh, sorry. Hand slipped."

"He slept with...OW!"

"Damn hand...got a mind of its own, you know?" Logan grinned.

"I'm going to stand over there..." Bobby muttered.

"Are you quite done, Logan?" the Professor asked, arching a brow.

"Oh yeah... I'm done." Logan looked around the classroom and the overturned desks and chairs. He looked back at the Professor sheepishly. "Well...I...uh...I'll just stay here and clean up."

"You do that."

* * *

Rogue was making her way back to her room, wondering for the twentieth time if she should have stayed with John. The moment they came out of the Professor's office, he was whisked away by Logan who just mumbled to her "I'll bring him back in one piece..."

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind her. "Are you really pregnant?"

Rogue turned around slowly, recognizing the voice. It was Amara and Rogue knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant situation. She wasn't sure what she ever did to Amara to hate her so much. "Yeah, I am."

"Huh... I'd always figured you'd probably die a virgin."

Rogue's eyes widened, feeling like she had just been slapped. She knew this girl could be vicious to her but this...this was beyond anything she'd imagined anyone would say to her face.

Jubilee came around the corner and immediately knew something bad had happened.

"Amara, why don't you go suck on a lemon and give people a reason why you always have that sour look on your face?" Jubilee said, putting her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Whatever." Amara gave her a look of disdain and left without another comment.

Jubilee glared at Amara's retreating back before turning her attention back to her friend. "You okay?"

"I don't know why she hates me so much."

"She's just jealous."

Rogue let out a small derisive laugh. "Jealous of what? My sucky life?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh yeah, your life sucks sooooooooooooooo much."

"My life does suck!"

"Rogue, your life does not suck. You have Sexy McSexington, a.k.a. the frickin' Wolverine, looking out for you...he's practically like your very own Secret Service Man. You've got that man wrapped around your finger and don't tell me otherwise. You have Mr All-American-Boy-Next-Door as your ex, who everyone knows is still half in love with you. Now you've managed to snag yourself the resident bad boy as your boyfriend. You know? The same boy who got you water this morning and held your hair as you threw up God knows what? And, most importantly of all, you have this ravishing creature in front of you as your best friend - probably not the best keeper of secrets - but someone who'll stick by you through thick and thin and tell people like Amara Aquilla to go suck on a lemon." She paused to take a breath. "Besides, it's no secret to anyone that that bee-otch has like the hugest crush on John. Something about being able to 'light her up.' Get it? Her magma with his fire? What a tool. Girl needs to work on her metaphors."

Rogue gave her a small smile.

"See? I told you your life does not suck," Jubilee exclaimed, nudging her friend lightly. "So...what did the Professor say?"

Rogue sighed. "I have pack up my things."

"He's kicking you out?" Jubilee looked completely shocked.

"No, stupid. He's letting me and John move into one of the bigger rooms."

"Do NOT scare me like that again."

"Sorry."

"What else did he say? Anything I should know about beforehand?"

Now it was Rogue's turn to roll her eyes dramatically. "What? So you can go tell the whole school again?"

Jubilee was decent enough to look embarrassed. "Yeah...well...that was my bad. I dropped the ball. But you know as well as I do that I can't help it. I think it's genetic...or maybe a side effect from my mutation. And if you really want to blame someone, blame frickin' Angus and Malcolm Young. Damn AC/DC…"

Rogue smiled. "The Professor...he just wanted to know what our plans were."

"What _are_ your plans?"

"I don't know. I think we just want to get through this one step at a time, you know? First is actually having this baby and then after that…I'm not sure."

They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"Well, one thing I know for sure, we can't stand here forever. Let's get your things together so you can go shack up with your baby's daddy."

"Nicely put, metaphor-girl."

"I think I saw it on a Hallmark card one time."

* * *

Jubilee was packing some of Rogue's books when she blurted out, "How _did _you and John hook up?"

Rogue looked up from where she was folding up some of her clothes on the floor with a surprised expression on her face. "I'm not sure. It just kinda...happened."

"Rogue, things like you and John? It doesn't just _kinda_ happen."

"I guess I meant I can't really pinpoint the exact moment we became more than just friends, you know? We always hung out together but that was only because of Bobby. Then, I don't know...things changed. It was suddenly just me and John hanging out. And I felt...I don't know how to put it...comfortable with him. Bobby was nice but he…I always got the feeling he didn't completely trust me. Like he was always expecting me to drain him dry or something. Like I was going to turn against him. With John…it was never like that. He was just…my boyfriend. You know?"

Jubilee nodded, knowing exactly what Rogue meant. "Can I ask about the sex now? What? Don't give me that look! You don't want me to learn about this kind of stuff on the streets, do you? Just think of it as a public service. You'll be doing the community a big favor."

"And by 'community,' you mean you."

Jubilee gave her a big toothy grin. "But of course, my dear."

Rogue thought back to her first time with John. Her whole face flushed.

"That good, huh?" Jubilee's voice interrupted.

Her eyes glazed over as a dreamy expression came over her. "Have you ever seen a boy eat pie?"

"Pie? John eats pie? I didn't think he liked sweets."

"He doesn't. But he likes pie. Apple pie. And the way he eats it... He makes these little noises... It's so filthy..."

Jubilee waited for her to explain further but Rogue looked like she was lost in her own little world. "Rogue? Rogue!! Snap out of it! Oh my God, stop thinking about John and pie!"

"Wha...what? Oh sorry..."

"Was he...holy crap...was he eating pie before you guys...before you...you know..._conceived_?"

Jubilee didn't think it was possible for her friend's face to become any redder.

"We were at a diner... God, if they only had coconut or even cherry pie but no, they only had apple pie. For some reason, he only likes apple pie... And...well...you know...he didn't have a condom with him and I couldn't wait...so we...um...just parked..." Rogue cleared her throat nervously. "Did you know there's a two percent failure rate on birth control pills? Who knew, huh?"

Jubilee just stared at her for a second then burst out laughing. "Are you telling me that watching him eat pie got you all hot and bothered? And that's why you're pregnant now?"

Rogue threw a t-shirt at her friend's laughing face, grinning unapologetically as Jubilee tried to duck out of the way. "Can we talk about something else now?"

"Oh my God...I'll never be able to look at pie or even apples the same way again..."

"Jubilee!"

"All right...all right... I'm done..." Jubilee tried to catch her breath. She rearranged her face into what she considered her most serious expression. "So what do you think you're gonna have? Boy or girl?"

"I'm not sure yet. I think it's still too early for me to have any kind of motherly instinct on that kind of thing..."

"Well, frankly speaking, I'm rooting for a girl. I don't think the world can handle another little Pyro running around...eating pie..." Jubilee burst out laughing again, even as Rogue aimed another shirt toward her face.

* * *

John was completely oblivious to the two girls watching him as he ate his apple pie in the dining hall. He was glad his little talk with Logan was over - he never wanted to hear certain sex-related words coming out of Logan's mouth ever again. And what the hell was the man thinking? Wasn't it a little too late to be having the-birds-and-the-bees talk now? He was still trying to get over listening to Logan talk about the female anatomy. Then watching as Logan did some kind of crude drawing of the female parts on the whiteboard…at least he thought it was suppose to be female.

Well, there was pie and that made him feel immensely better. He couldn't remember the last time they had pie for dessert after dinner. And if he had been thinking about more than just eating his dessert, he would have realized that they _never_ had pie before that night.

Under the table, the empty plastic container that used to hold the store-bought pie laid between Jubilee's and Rogue's feet.

He was only on his third bite, savoring the flavor of cinnamon and nutmeg on his tongue, when he got hauled out of his chair by Rogue.

"Hey! I'm not done eating!"

"Yes, you are." She had a firm grip on his arm and led him out of the dining room, almost knocking over Warren on their way out.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked, sitting next to a snickering Jubilee.

"Uh...I'm not sure." She paused, taking a sidelong glance at him. "You want some pie?"


	4. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

_Three months later..._

It was Saturday morning and everyone else were either still sleeping or watching cartoons but Rogue and John were sitting together at an empty table that had been set up in Dr McCoy's office. Not that they had planned to spend a precious weekend day cooped up inside but it seemed like a good idea to attend this class. Dr McCoy had plastered the school's bulletin boards with flyers announcing a new weekend class called 'So You're Pregnant, Now What?' It didn't take either of them long to realize that the class was for their benefit.

"You know, you're gonna have to let go of my hand sometime..."

"But I like holding your hand... And besides, you told me I could touch you anytime I wanted..."

"I believe that statement was made in the heat of the moment..."

She laughed, which only made her hold on his hand tighter. "I'm still getting used to being able to touch...you know, not just you...and not just in bed..." She cleared her throat, blushing furiously at what she had just said aloud. She rapidly changed the subject, pointedly ignoring his light chuckles. "I actually touched Jubilee's bare shoulder yesterday. You should have seen her face when she realized what happened..."

"Who knew all it would take for you to finally take control of your mutation was to get you preg..." He didn't get to finish his wry comment as they both looked up to see someone entering the room.

_Aw...shit..._

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her lips thinning in anger and her grip even tighter on John's hand. He was seriously thinking he might lose circulation.

"It wasn't my idea, believe me," Logan muttered.

_Don't sit next to me, don't sit next to me, don't sit to me... Damnit, Logan, you bastard..._

John gave Logan a nervous smile and a nod of acknowledgment, as the older man took the seat next to him. Rogue only stared straight ahead, her eyes firmly on the front of the room. John was now sitting between an aggravated Wolverine and a clearly displeased pregnant girlfriend.

Rock meet hard place.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Can't we just get past this?" Logan started.

Rogue snorted then said sarcastically, "You're sorry?"

"I didn't mean to...um...interrupt you guys, okay? I...uh...heard you...and I thought...well...I thought you were in trouble..."

"And when I said don't come in, did you take that as go ahead and break down the door?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Well, sorry isn't going to cut it, _bub_! And was it really necessary for you to go screaming 'I'm blind! I'm blind!' once you realized I _wasn't _in trouble? Your stupid screaming brought everyone to our room!"

"I wasn't expecting you to be in that...that..." Logan waved his hand around, trying to grasp the right word. "...position... It just surprised me, all right? It would have surprised anyone! Tell her, John!"

_I really hate you, you stupid fucking metallic jerk. _"I...uh..." John stuttered out.

"Don't you dare try to bring him to your side, Logan!"

"I'm not trying bring him to anybody's side! You're being unreasonable! Isn't she being unreasonable?" Logan directed the last question to John. Even Rogue seemed interested in how he was going to answer that, as she let go of his hand to cross her arms against her chest.

"Oh geez...don't bring me into this..."

"Don't bring you into this? You're already a part of this, buddy."

"I really don't want to be in the middle of this, Logan. You have the ability to kill me slowly and painfully. And she...well...she lets me do things..."

"Do NOT finish that sentence."

"Don't tell him what to do!"

"Oh my God...you guys would be like so totally the perfect story for Jerry Springer. Or maybe Maury Povich... Which one has all the fist fights on their show?"

"Jubilee, what the hell are you doing here?" Logan asked, irritation written all over his face.

"Chill, Wolvie. I was invited." Jubilee took the seat next to Logan. "I'm the alternate. You know, in case, Johnny-boy here faints in the delivery room or something. Like when he sees exactly where the baby will be coming out from and then it's lights-out."

As annoying as Jubilee could be, John was relieved to see her. Anything, even being called 'Johnny-boy' or her thinking he would pull a pansy stunt like fainting, was better than being in the middle of a fight between Logan and Rogue.

"So how you doin', Wolvie? Still blind?" Jubilee grinned, nudging the older man in the side.

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm on your side. I'm just surprised you didn't freak out when they moved in together."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Dude, did ya really think they're like spending that much time in their room working on their multiplication table? Get a clue, wolf-boy. Come to think about it, do you think it's normal for a pregnant girl to be so horny? Should we ask Dr McCoy about that?"

"Jubilee!" Rogue exclaimed.

"What? I'm just asking!" Jubilee looked at the three of them, all their faces red as beets and decided she had tortured them enough - for now. "So what brings you to this part of the neighborhood, anyway? I didn't think you were a fan of pregnancy classes."

Logan sighed heavily. "Apparently, the Professor thinks this will help me with my anger management."

Jubilee put on her shocked face. "No! You? Angry? I would have never guessed!"

He gave her disgruntled looks as she laughed loudly at him. He could hear John snickering next to him. He even had the feeling that Rogue was laughing too but was at least trying to stifle it - whether it was because she was trying to spare his feelings or because she was still mad at him, he wasn't sure.

Logan muttered darkly under his breath as the teenagers continued to laugh at his expense. They only managed to quiet down when Hank finally arrived in the classroom fifteen minutes later.

"Oh good, Logan, you're here. Will you come up here, please?"

"Why?"

"I actually need to measure you."

"For what?"

"Why...for your padded suit."

"My what?"

"Your padded suit... Didn't the Professor explain this to you?"

Logan racked his brain. "I..uh...heard 'class' and 'management' and then after that I kinda zoned out..."

"Well, since Miss Lee here is going to be basically John's backup during Rogue's pregnancy, she'll be learning more about his role during the upcoming months. The Professor thought it would be a good idea for her to have a partner to practice with and since you seemed to have volunteered…"

Realization dawned on all of them.

"Oh my fucking God!" Jubilee exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight.

"Oh hell no!" Logan yelled.

"Logan, it's just pretend. You'll only be fake-pregnant for a few months," Hank said patiently. "Now if you'll just stand up for a moment, I need to get your waist size..."

"Are you crazy? Have you been taking crazy pills? Is that it? It's not going to happen!"

"You and Jubilee will be paired together," Hank went on, completely ignoring Logan's outburst. "She'll be taking good care of you, I'm sure. Come on now. Stand up...just for a second..."

"What part of 'hell no' did you not get?"

"Logan, let me make this very clear, the Professor has the ability to make things very uncomfortable for you. You remember your little scouting trip to Iowa, right? It'll be worse…much much worse..."

Logan tried to think of a way to squirm out of this but was startled out of his thoughts when Jubilee slapped a hand against his shoulder. "No worries, Wolvie. I take care of my women. And besides, I like 'em big and hairy."

* * *

"What about Harry?" Rogue called out, holding a paperback version of _Big Book of Baby Names _in her hands. It was one of many books that Hank had given them to read and look over. She was in her black strappy nightgown – the one she knew he liked - sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed and stretched out. "Harry sounds nice."

"No way... Do you really want to name our child after a lightning scarred wizard freak?" he replied back from the bathroom.

"When did you read Harry Potter?" she laughed.

"I didn't...but it's hard to be around you guys whenever a new movie or book comes out. I've never seen Kitty look so giddy."

She giggled as she returned her attention to searching for a name. "How about Joshua? It means 'God is salvation.'"

She heard him chuckle. "Let's not burden the kid with a religious name. St John is bad enough…"

She scooted off the bed, book still in hand. She kicked the shoes she knew would be lying in front of the doorway to the bathroom out of the way without missing a beat.

In the three months they had been living together, she had tried getting him not to leave his shoes there but it was a useless battle. She may have lost that round but he did make up for it in other ways – he remembered to put the toilet seat down, he didn't squeeze the toothpaste from the middle of the tube, he picked up his own dirty socks and actually put them in the hamper… It was just the shoes he never seemed to get.

She shifted the book to one hand as she trailed the other hand over his bare back as he brushed his teeth, his sweatpants slung low around his hips.

He was rinsing out his mouth when she continued, "Do you like Nathan?"

"Isn't it possible that we're having a girl? How about some girl names?"

She just smiled serenely, putting the book down on the counter. She pushed him out the bathroom, backing him up until he hit the edge of the bed.

"You know, just for your own personal information, I bruise easily and you keep manhandling me..."

She smirked, giving him another push so that he was forced to sit down on the bed. She moved to straddle his lap. "But I thought you liked it rough."

He chuckled, leaning close as his lips touched hers. His hands rested over her gently rounding belly. He pulled back slightly, ignoring her look of annoyance. "Uh...not to ruin the mood or anything but...we're not going to be interrupted again, are we? Because I'd hate for him to catch us this way...you know...again..."

Her arms settled around his neck. "I talked to Jubilee at dinner. She has plans for him."

"So what does this mean? You're not gonna be mad at him anymore?"

"We'll see. I think two more nights with Jubilee should settle it. Now enough talking..."

* * *

"Are you comfortable?"

"Lee, will you just get out of here?" Logan was lying on his bed, propped up by a dozen pillows as Jubilee brought him yet another glass of water.

"I just want to make sure the baby's gonna be okay. I'm gonna sleep here. You know...just in case. We never know when there might be an emergency, right?"

Logan groaned loudly.

"Are you in pain? Should I get Dr McCoy? You're not miscarrying, are you?"

"Oh my God...just stop. In case you haven't notice, I'm a man. I'm not really pregnant. There's no way I can get pregnant. Men cannot possibly get pregnant. It is medically impossible for me to get pregnant. Hence, I cannot possibly be miscarrying." He swatted at her hands like he was trying to shoo away a pesky fly. "And stop fluffing the pillows!"

"Oh, Logan... Dr McCoy warned me about these mood swings..." Jubilee tsked. "And you forget that male seahorses get pregnant. Weren't you listening to anything Dr McCoy taught us today?"

She left the room and Logan hoped it was for good. But the door opened again a moment later as she dragged in a small cot. She settled it next to his bed then went out again to get sheets, blankets and even more pillows.

As she was making the bed, she said, "The Professor thought my idea to sleep here for the duration of the 'pregnancy' was a great one. Of course, I'm only sleeping on the cot for your own benefit. I don't want you thinking that I would take advantage of you in your delicate state. So now, you rest up. Baby needs energy, right?"

Logan could only close his eyes and hope that this would be all just a horrible horrible nightmare.

* * *

A/N: I hope I didn't squick too many people - just remember, it's just a pretend pregnancy...to make Logan's life a little bit more complicated. ;)

BTW, anyone want to give me some prompts for a Halloween Ryro fic? Any suggestions will be welcomed!


	5. Property of Marie D'Ancanto

Rogue had spent the last hour in the library. She was doing research for her paper on old-school fighting techniques that Logan had assigned her since she could no longer participate in the self-defense class anymore.

Or at least that was what he told her an hour earlier.

She was still fairly small for being almost four months along. She could move as quickly as the other girls and it wasn't like she couldn't process the strengths and weaknesses of her opponent just because she was pregnant.

But Logan insisted she sit the class out.

Whatever…she wasn't going to miss running thirty laps every other day anyways.

There was still another hour to the class so she went back to the gymnasium where it was being taught. She pushed open the swinging doors and saw that everyone was listening to Logan as he gave instructions – something about there being no shame in going for an opponent's obvious 'soft spots.' Logan did love his dirty fighting tactics.

Rogue scanned around the room and saw Jubilee sitting on a bench not too far away, reading a gossip magazine and sipping on a can of soda.

"How come you're not in there?" Rogue asked, taking a seat next to her friend.

Jubilee gave her a grunt in response, usually meaning that she wanted to finish an article before getting into a conversation. Rogue waited patiently until Jubilee closed the magazine and gave her a dazzling smile. "Did you know that Catherine Zeta-Jones uses a four hundred dollar hair treatment? And you know what it's made out of? Caviar! What a riot!"

Rogue arched a brow. "This is what you've been doing the entire time?"

"Girl, getting Logan pregnant was the best idea ever. Not literally, of course. I've been able to get away with just about anything nowadays. I just casually mention that he probably needed to get a maternity bra to go along with his maternity outfits…"

Rogue giggled. "You didn't!"

"Of course I did!" Jubilee snuck a glance to where Logan was still talking with the rest of the class and said in a lowered voice, "Don't tell Logan about this but Dr Grey and Ms Munroe are still working on getting that padded suit together and from what I've seen so far, they're taking pity on him and only did the belly part. They aren't going to make him have his breasts enlarged too."

Rogue grinned. "My lips are sealed."

"Good, because this thing has so far gotten me out of running laps, researching for my English paper, and also he's been giving me change for the vending machines. He even offered to take my turn at washing the dinner dishes too if I never mention the words 'maternity' and 'bra' to him ever again."

They laughed but Rogue stopped abruptly when she saw who John had been paired up with.

"What the hell is she doing with him?" she hissed angrily, pointing toward where John and Amara started to circle each other slowly, occasionally throwing a swing or a jab to test the limits of their mock-fight session.

"Take it easy, Rogue. Her partner has a broken leg. It wasn't planned or anything."

"I don't like it."

"No one said you had to like it. Come on, let's go get a brownie or something. I need to get another soda too." Jubilee tugged on her arm until Rogue finally got on her feet and was reluctantly pulled away from watching as Amara grabbed John, almost getting him into a headlock. But it wasn't a headlock, per se – more like smooshing his head against her breast.

Rogue was about to give the girl a piece of her mind but Jubilee gave her a hard tug towards the vending machines outside. "Come on! I need my afternoon snack! You know how cranky I get if I don't eat something!"

Rogue couldn't believe her ears or eyes. "Did you not see that?"

"See what?"

"Amara…she had…breast…" Rogue sputtered out.

"Yes, Rogue, Amara has breasts." Jubilee nodded sagely, then turned her attention to counting out her change. "Should I get a Snickers or M&M's? I am rather partial to nougat… Oooo! They have Cheetos now! I have to get that!"

"Jubilee!"

"What's the problem?" Jubilee looked at her friend, as she grabbed her cheesy snack from the drawer at the bottom of the machine. "You know when they fight, there's going to be some sort of bodily contact, Rogue. It's nothing. They're just practicing their self-defense moves. That's it. Nothing's going on."

"I just wish he had another partner," Rogue muttered.

Jubilee started putting in her money into the soda machine. "Yeah, well, I'm wishing for world peace and a pair of Manolo Blahnik's but I'm not expecting those anytime soon either. I think he would have partnered up with Bobby but you know…they haven't exactly been talking since…well…"

"Oh God…you mean they haven't been talking _at all_ since…the pregnancy?"

"Err…well, no… They chitchatted for awhile but…err…I think the real falling out happened when…erm…we busted in on you guys…you know…under the sheets, if you know what I mean..."

"Under the sheets?"

"You know, that day when Logan became the fourth blind mouse?"

Rogue groaned, burying her face in her hand.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll work things out eventually. I think Bobby just needs some time to adjust to this."

"I guess… I just can't believe John didn't say anything to me."

"He probably didn't want to burden you with it. Like I said, I'm sure they'll get over this. Here, have a Cheeto. Processed cheese always makes things better."

Rogue smiled, grabbing a handful of Cheetos from Jubilee's bag.

"Hey! I said 'a Cheeto,' Miss Grabby-Pants!"

"I'm eating for two now… I have to keep up my strength."

They both laughed and made their way back to the gym. When they got back, the class seemed to be taking a short break from the exercises Logan had been putting them through. Amara and her friend, Danielle, were standing by the doors, gossiping among themselves. When Rogue and Jubilee passed by them, Rogue could plainly hear Amara talking about something she had no business talking about.

"Oh, it's so obvious she trapped him in that relationship. I mean, if she hadn't gotten pregnant, do you think he would still even be with her? I don't think so."

"Don't, Rogue, she's not worth it," Jubilee whispered. But Amara heard her comment and turned to look at them. Amara just smirked then went back to talking to Danielle. This time Rogue couldn't hear what they were saying anymore but there was a lot more giggling going on. "Come on… There's a Jake Gyllenhaal article I want to show you."

"I couldn't even give her a good, hard slap?" Rogue whined.

"No, then you'd be lowering yourself to her standard and I know you're better than that. Now, come on."

They sat back down at the bench they were at earlier, Jubilee taking yet another gossip magazine out from her gym bag. "Here, read the one about Jake and his dogs. I think his cuteness factor just goes through the roof when he's with those dogs. They're all so cute together. Did I mention it's all so cute?"

Rogue tried to concentrate on reading the article Jubilee pointed out for her but she couldn't help taking small glances over to where John and Amara were training again. It looked like Amara had stumbled over her own feet and managed to throw herself exactly into John's arms. Rogue felt her fingers digging into the magazine pages, crumpling the paper into tight wads. She tried to restrain herself. She really did.

But then the tipping point came when Amara's hands glided over John's shoulder, over his sides, and rested directly on his…

Jubilee had been watching Amara also and couldn't believe her eyes. She really didn't think Amara had the nerve to pull such a stunt. And right in front of Rogue too! "Oh crap…" Jubilee muttered. She looked over to her friend who had already stood up and stomping her way toward the groping girl. "Rogue! She has weak ankles! Take her down at the ankles!"

John had managed to free himself from Amara's unwanted embrace, only to find Rogue launching herself against the girl. "Rogue! Wait!"

"You don't _ever_ touch him, bitch!" Rogue yelled. "You keep your filthy hands off his ass! That ass is mine!"

Amara screamed in pain as Rogue began pulling on her hair and scratching at her face viciously. Amara managed to get her hand around Rogue's own loose hair and began pulling also. Soon the two girls fell to the mat, punching and biting and screaming obscenities. John tried to grab Rogue away but the two were so entangled, he didn't know who or what he was grabbing.

"What the hell is going on here?" Logan shoved his way through the crowd that was forming around the two wrestling girls. "Holy fuck… Rogue! Amara! Stop this right now!" Logan managed to grab someone's arm but for his trouble, he was elbowed savagely. "OW!! My eye!!" He stumbled away from the fight, cupping his right eye in pain.

Kitty saw Danielle try to make a move toward the fight and stuck her foot out to trip her. Danielle landed with a big 'oof' onto her stomach and Kitty sat down on the flattened girl to keep her from moving.

It wasn't until Peter came into the picture with his metal shield protecting him from (unintentional, of course) scratches and bites and elbows to the eye that the two girls were pulled apart. Peter got a grasp on Amara and John pulled Rogue away. Bobby and Warren managed to convince Kitty to stop sitting on Danielle, that the fight was over for now. Jubilee just kept whooping and hollering while Logan was furiously blinking his right eye as his vision slowly came back.

"You stay away from him!" Rogue screamed. She was still making such a ruckus that John hauled her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, making his way out the doors. She pulled up his t-shirt, pointing to his ass. "This is property of Marie D'Ancanto! You touch it again, I swear to God you'll have more trouble than your mama ever gave ya!"

"Sing it, sister!" Jubilee called out as Rogue was carried away.

* * *

John didn't let Rogue down until they were back in their room. He dropped her off his shoulder onto the bed and turned away from her, dragging his fingers through his hair. Rogue lifted herself up onto her elbows and stared at him as he paced back and forth, clearly agitated. He finally sat down at the edge of the bed, his back still to her.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

She straightened, now sitting up next to him. That scene in the gym kept playing over and over in her head. "She grabbed your ass!"

"Yeah, I know about that part! I was there! Jesus Christ, Rogue! You're pregnant! That little tiff you had? You could have really hurt the baby, you know that, right?"

She suddenly became as meek as a kitten. "I know."

He sighed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Look, I know Amara isn't your favorite person and you'd like to have another round with her but you have to think about not just yourself now. I can handle someone like Amara…what I can't handle is to see you get hurt and something happening to our baby, okay?"

"Okay." She pulled herself closer to him, playing with the hem of his shirt nervously. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Did I trap you?" she asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I just…I'm just wondering…you don't feel like I made you stay with me, right? I guess what I mean is…I know that I didn't exactly ask you if you wanted to have this baby too and…I don't know…I forced you to…"

"Rogue, listen to me. Nobody forced me to do anything. You know better than anybody that no one is going to tell me what to do and what not to do, right? I'm here because I love you and I want to be here. That little baby you have inside of you? It's part of me too."

She looked at him in wonderment.

"What? I have something on my face?"

She smiled. "No…it's just…"

"What?"

"It's the first time you said that you loved me."

"It is?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry…"

"No, don't be sorry. I know it's not words you would throw around easily and I never expected you to say it out loud. Your actions spoke louder than anything but…"

"It's still nice to hear?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll say more often then. And I say it because I do mean it, Rogue." His arm tightened around her as she closed the small gap between them.

* * *

The dining hall that night was full and the gossip surrounding the cat fight that happened that afternoon spread like wildfire around the mansion. Some gave Rogue the evil eye but most gave her a big thumb's up.

Rogue and John sat with Peter, Jubilee, Kitty, and Warren. Bobby still sat away from them but gave them a hesitant greeting when the couple passed his table.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't John Allerdyce."

The whole table looked toward where the slightly mocking, slightly sultry voice was coming from. It was a red-haired girl – one hand on her hip, a grin on her face – looking directly at John.

"Wanda," John gasped out, choking on the piece of bread he had in his mouth.

Her grin only broadened. "It's good to know you remember my name, lover boy."

Then to the amazement to everyone else at the table (and basically everyone who had been at the dining hall), she leaned over and kissed him full on the lips.


	6. Old Friends, New Friends

"WANDA! What the hell?"

"Just saying hello to an old friend, big brother…"

"Old friend? We've been here for exactly two hours, how the hell do you already have an old…"

There was an audible swishing sound as the entire group at the table swung their heads away from the still smirking red-haired girl toward the new voice. It was a boy…a new boy…a boy no one at the table knew except…

"Holy fuck! Pietro?"

"Allerdyce? Fucking hell, man! What the hell are you doing here?" The new boy dragged John out of his chair and pulled him into a big bear hug. "Jesus Christ, we all thought you were in some shitty jail cell making homemade shanks or something."

"I can't believe you guys are here," John laughed.

"We're not the only ones. Dom and Sam are here too," Pietro said, pointing toward where the two boys were walking over with their plates piled high with food. The moment Dominic and Sam saw John at the table, the food was momentarily forgotten and the four boys started laughing and hugging, thumping each other on the backs. If it weren't for the obvious need to be as manly as possible, an outsider would think he was seeing a bunch of giddy, tittering schoolgirls.

Jubilee cleared her throat as loudly as possible, making sure the sound carried over the excited conversation the boys were having amongst themselves. "Uh…who the hell are you guys?"

"Oh…right… Sorry," John said sheepishly, realizing finally that there were other people around them. "Well, this is Pietro, Dominic, Sam." He pointed to each boy, who in return gave a little wave to the group sitting at the table. "And, of course, Wanda." He turned slightly so he missed the glare Rogue shot her way. "They're all…uh…old friends."

"Old friends? Hell, man, I shared a toothbrush you for three days!" Pietro exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me? I never used that thing! I've seen your so-called personal hygiene routine." The four boys just laughed and laughed, Wanda rolled her eyes as the others just looked at one another in confusion. "But seriously…what the hell are you guys doing here?"

"Well, it was here or juvie," Dominic shrugged.

"What the hell happened?"

"Got caught using our…five finger discount…no big deal…" Sam said. "But never mind about us, what the hell happened with you? Last time we saw you, you were getting hauled out of that store by those cops."

"It was either here or juvie." They all started laughing hysterically again while the group at the table just sat there, completely confused again. John paused for a moment when Jubilee cleared her throat loudly and demanding his attention. He finally took the hint. "Oh, right… So Pietro, Dom, Sam, Wanda, that's Jubilee – the throat clearing maestro – that's Peter, Kitty, Warren, and, last but certainly not least, this is my girl, Rogue."

"Rogue, huh?" Pietro said. His eyes then fell to her slightly protruding belly. "Holy fuckballs, man, did you knock her up?"

* * *

The boys had left for a not-so-secret celebration of John's upcoming dive into fatherhood. They were planning on getting the daddy-to-be as drunk as possible – most likely through illegal means considering none of them were of the legal drinking age yet. It also sounded like this wasn't going to be the first time John and his old friends had done _that_ before. Warren and Peter hesitated only the briefest of moments before agreeing to join what Pietro called 'a night of non-stop boozing.'

It left just the girls, which included Wanda who opted out of being the lone girl on another boys-night-out, sitting around on the couches in the rec room. They were trying to figure out how this new group dynamic was going to work out and things progressed a little awkwardly at first.

Then Jubilee had the bright idea of having Wanda tell them all about how they used to know John – which turned out to be one long, felonious, and rather torrid affair.

Afterwards, Rogue just got up from the couch and announced in an eeriely calm voice that she was going to bed – never mind that it was only 7:30 at night. Jubilee and Kitty exchanged worried glances then Jubilee hurried out with Rogue, leaving Kitty to deal with a befuddled Wanda.

Jubilee caught up with Rogue and took a sidelong glance at her. "Are you okay?"

Rogue didn't say a word, just went into her room, closing the door in Jubilee's face.

The door opened and closed again, Jubilee walking in without invitation. She then started to have a one-way conversation with herself, providing both hers and Rogue's parts, as she sat on the bed. "Why don't you come in, Jubilation? Why, thank you, Rogue. You know, Jubilation, you're my best friend, I feel like I can tell you anything. Of course you can, Rogue. Like I could tell you what's bothering me right now, couldn't I, Jubilation? That would be a start, Rogue…"

Rogue still hadn't said a word as she walked back and forth on the carpeted floor.

Jubilee crossed her arms, watching as Rogue muttered things under her breath as she paced. "You know if you don't tell me right now what's bothering you, I'll just continue to sit here and act out this little monologue with myself. Which I must admit is annoying even me…" Rogue still hadn't answered. "Listen, are you angry about John's…uh…criminal activities? Because you know…"

"I'm not angry about that…"

"She speaks! Finally!" Jubilee threw her hands in the air dramatically. "So if you're not angry about that, what's the dealio?"

Rogue sighed, sitting down on the bed next to her friend. "I knew about all that stuff. I mean, I watched him hot-wire a car one time – I knew he had to have done that before."

"Okay, so you're fine with the petty larcenies, the credit card fraud, the vandalism, the auto thefts…what part is…" Then it was as if a light bulb had turned on above Jubilee's head and if there had been sound effects, a 'ding' would have been heard. "Oh my fucking God…you're jealous!"

Rogue half-heartedly scoffed at the suggestion, averting her eyes.

"Oh no! You can't scoff at my brilliant observation! All those stories Wanda told us about John's past…how should I put this?...relationships?" Jubilee air-quoted the word 'relationships,' grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You _did_ realize that he wasn't a virgin, right? I mean, you did say that he knew what he was doing, right? In bed, I mean…"

"I knew he wasn't a virgin, for Christ's sake! I'm not an idiot! But…goddamnit! I didn't know he used to be…such a…a…a_ man-slut_!"

Jubilee just howled with laughter, falling sideways on the bed and clutching her stomach. "Oh my God…stop…you're making my sides…split… Man-slut…oh my God…"

"Shut up, Jubilee! I'm being serious!" Rogue tried to keep a straight face but her lips kept quirking up as she watched her friend roll around on the bedsheets.

"I'm sorry but if you're gonna be using words like 'man-slut' I'm gonna laugh in your face."

"Jubilee!"

"All right, all right! I'm going to stop laughing…starting…now…" Jubilee took a deep breath, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes as she sat upright. "Okay, I'm done. Whew… I haven't laughed that hard since…well, forever. Thought I was going to ruin these jeans…and they're not my cheap jeans either. Saved for six months to get these… So…anyways…where were we? Ah, yes, John's man-sluttiness…"

Rogue just rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't see this as a bad thing. No, hear me out. So John was a little bit of a playa in the past – he was gaining 'experience,' right?" Jubilee used her now-famous air-quotes again. "So you could say that all that 'experience' was just practice runs. You're the end product…uh…so to speak. And you can't really complain about that, can you?"

"That's some really twisted logic, you know that, right?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to put a positive spin to this. And if he's as good as you say he is – which, by the way, I'd like to know more about…"

"Jubilee!"

"Oh, come on! I'm living vicariously through you! Like I'm going to do it with any of the guys here…well, maybe that new kid…what's his name? Sam? He looks like he'd be right up my alley…"

Rogue's lips were trembling from holding back her giggles. The knocking on her door saved her from laughing in Jubilee's face, who she knew wouldn't take getting laughed at as well as she did. "Who is it?"

"It's Kitty, Rogue. But I'm not…uh…alone. Wanda's with me. Can we come in?"

"Oh God, I don't want to talk to her," Rogue whispered to Jubilee, all traces of her humor vanishing in an instant. "I don't think I could handle it if she starts telling me another sexual escapade…or worse, if she starts telling me how her and John got together."

"What the hell makes you think her and John were ever together?"

"Are you kidding me? That kiss in the dining hall? Did you not see that?"

"Oh please…that wasn't a real kiss. There was no tongue!"

"Jubilee!"

"You know what I don't understand? Why didn't you ask her about that when we were downstairs? Instead you just sat there…what the fuck was that all about, huh? I mean, you kick Amara's ass for grabbing…well…his ass but another girl kisses your boyfriend and you just sit there? It boggles my mind!"

"A lot of things boggles your mind."

"I resent that. I'm very well known for my quick-wit."

"Uh…Rogue? Can we come in or not?" Kitty said through the door.

"What do I do?" Rogue whispered.

"Well, I think they know we're in here so…why don't we open the door and if she starts talking about anything sex-related, we throw her out the window."

Rogue thought for a moment and then said, "Okay."

"I was kidding! Sort of!"

But Rogue didn't pay much attention to Jubilee's response – Wanda was going out that window one way or another. "Come in!"

Kitty and Wanda came into the room, they stood next the bed as Rogue and Jubilee looked at them and then at each other.

Nobody said a thing until finally Wanda started, "I think I gave you the wrong impression downstairs. I…uh…probably babbled on and on about things I shouldn't have told you. Well, I guess I should say I shouldn't have been the one who told you about them."

"Damn straight," Jubilee said.

Wanda just stared at Jubilee for a second before turning back to Rogue. "Could we talk? Alone?"

"Hey, you don't get to…" Jubilee started to get up to challenge Wanda when Rogue interrupted her.

"No, it's okay, Jubes."

"Are you sure?"

Rogue nodded. "Don't worry."

Jubilee leaned close and whispered to her friend, "Remember to wipe down any fingerprints and if you really really need to throw her out the window, throw with your knees and not your back."

"I'll keep that in mind," Rogue grinned.

Jubilee and Kitty slowly and reluctantly walked out of the room, each glancing over their shoulders to make sure Rogue didn't change her mind. They closed the door on their way out.

Wanda took Jubilee's seat next to Rogue on the bed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Um…sure."

"How far along are you?"

Rogue smoothed her hands over her stomach. "Four months."

"Four months…wow…" Wanda paused, her eyes still on Rogue's stomach. "He's going to be a great dad, you know."

"I know."

They were quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Rogue looked over at Wanda more than a little stunned – this was the last thing she had expected to hear from this girl. "What?"

"You know…about the stories…and about the kiss… I…uh…I kinda always wanted to…with him…"

"So you and him…you never…" Confusion marred Rogue's face.

Wanda laughed, humorlessly. "He's my brother's best friend and I think he thinks of me more as a little sister than anything else… And my_ real_ brother's more than a little over-protective when it comes to boys who might even _think_ about taking me out on a date."

Rogue snorted. "I know how that feels."

"You have a brother?"

"Oh no…just this big scary guy with claws who thinks he's my father."

"Sounds bad."

"Yeah…well…he has his uses…" The two girls glanced at one another, both their lips quirking up slightly.

"I know what you mean about _that_."

Another pause.

"Was John…was he really such a…"

Wanda arched a brow. "Man-slut?" She laughed at Rogue's surprised expression. "No, most of those stories came from Pietro…and most of _those_ times, my brother was probably drunk. And you know how boys exaggerate about things like that, but…with John…I sort of believe it. He could charm the pants off of anyone. Uh…sorry, bad choice of words. Listen, you do not have anything to worry about. Seriously. I saw…I saw the way he looks at you. It's not like with those other girls. He loves you." Rogue thought she heard a hitch in Wanda's voice and from the way Wanda kept blinking her eyes, it looked like...like she was trying to stop herself from crying. "And when John makes a commitment, he makes a commitment, you know what I mean? He's kinda stubborn like that."

Rogue gave her a small smile. "Yeah…I know… Like a bulldog, right?"

Wanda grinned. "Something like that…"

* * *

John tiptoed into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible as he carefully took off his shoes. He walked over to the bathroom and stubbed his toes against one of the end tables, he bit his lip in agony.

"John?" Rogue mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

"Go back to sleep."

She turned on one of the lamps and saw him hobbling on one foot into the bathroom. "Are you drunk?"

"Um…yeah… Completely wasted…"

"John…"

He came back out, changed out of his clothes. "I ran into the table, all right? It was dark and I didn't see the table and I ran my foot right into it and now I think tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up with a big fat bruise on it, all right? Happy?"

He dropped into bed, turning off the lamp again and grumbling softly. She laughed quietly to herself as she cuddled next to him. "Very happy."


	7. My Big Fat Wolverine Belly

"Where's Logan?"

Jubilee was concentrating so hard on what she was doing, she didn't realize Hank had been speaking to her.

"Jubilee!"

"What?!" she asked, annoyed. "Goddamnit! Now you've messed up my diaper!" She held up her baby doll right up to Hank's face, her practice diaper dangling half-on, half-off of it.

"What happened to Logan? Didn't he come to class with you?"

"I don't know what happened to him. Last time I saw him, he was being dragged kicking and screaming by Dr Grey…figuratively speaking, of course…because he wasn't exactly kicking...or screaming, come to think of it… Dr Grey probably used that freaky mind thing she does… You know…that thing…with the stuff…" She trailed off, concentrating again on putting another diaper on her doll. She was concentrating so hard, she didn't realize the tip of her tongue was sticking out from the corner of her mouth.

Hank looked over to where Rogue and John had their heads together. Rogue looked like she was trying to swaddle her doll as John was just staring at what she was doing uncertainly. If that doll had been a real baby, Hank thought, it would have turned blue by now.

"Rogue, you're swaddling…not strangling…" Hank gently pointed out.

Rogue's eyes widened in surprise then looked down at her doll as she realized what she had been doing. "Oh…right…"

"There! The perfect diaper!" Jubilee said proudly, waving her doll around by one of its legs.

"Jubilee! That's suppose to represent a real baby! Stop swinging it around!" Hank exclaimed.

But Jubilee didn't hear him as she spiked the doll like a football and did a little dance around it. "Take that, Huggies!"

"Jubilee!"

"What? The diaper stayed on, didn't it?" Jubilee said, innocently.

Hank sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. "Never mind. Where's your partner?"

"I told you. He went with Dr Grey like two night ago. I think he was getting fitted or something for his suit." Realization finally dawned on Jubilee. "Oh my fucking God! He's getting fitted!" She clapped her hands together gleefully. "Oh, I cannot wait to see him!"

"Two nights ago? You haven't seen him for that long?" Hank asked, incredulously. "Rogue? John? Have you seen Logan?"

"What?" they both asked at the same time.

"Logan…have you seen him?" Hank asked again, his patience wearing thin.

"I think I saw him in the kitchen a couple of nights ago," John said, unwrapping Rogue's baby doll again and swaddling it himself.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen him since Wednesday…" Rogue said, watching John. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Too much time on my hands…" John shrugged.

"You've been practicing? On what?"

"That stupid pillow you insist on keeping."

"You used my Hello Kitty pillow to practice swaddling?"

"Pietro wanted to see how to do it… I don't think she minded, you know. The pillow, I mean…"

"Can we focus for a moment, please?" Hank said, massaging his temples with his fingertips. The pounding in his head seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. "Nobody's seen Logan for at least two days now."

"I wouldn't say 'nobody.' I mean, come on, you've only asked the three of us here… I wouldn't draw my conclusions on that," Jubilee said, picking up her doll from the floor and flinging it onto the changing table again. "Aren't you suppose to be like the big science guy around here? What kind of scientist makes conclusions based on just three observations? Don't you need at least like five people or something to make a conclusion?"

"All right! All right! Let's clean up and find out what's going on with Logan."

* * *

It turned out that, indeed, no one had seen Logan for at least two days.

Hank, Jubilee, John, and Rogue sat around the island in the kitchen, drinking milk and mindlessly eating the cookies that had been left on the counter. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts, each trying to figure out where Logan might be.

"Maybe he took off again?" Jubilee said, accidentally spitting out crumbs of cookies as she spoke.

"No, his truck is still here… And besides that, the Professor wouldn't let him off the hook so easily," Hank said, tapping a finger against his chin.

"I can't think of any other places he might go…" Rogue said, stuffing another cookie into her mouth. "These are really good. I think baby likes chocolate."

John snorted into his milk at her last comment. "I think we've established a long time ago that baby likes chocolate, Rogue." Rogue scrunched her face at him and then nudged him rather violently that he found himself almost sliding off the stool he had been sitting on.

"So we've looked in the usual places…how about the unusual places?" Hank asked.

"Wouldn't that be like…everywhere else?" Jubilee said, arching a brow.

"Hmm…" Hank said with a thoughtful expression on his face. "We haven't checked any of the empty bedrooms yet…"

"I guess we can start looking now… All the cookies are gone…" Rogue said, mournfully.

* * *

"Well, there are only two more rooms left to check." Jubilee plopped herself down on the floor in the hallway, taking her shoes off and rubbing her feet between her hands. "And I must say, these shoes weren't made for searching missing Wolverines."

"That's what happens when you insist you're a size 8 when you're really a 9, Jubilee," Rogue said, sitting next to her friend.

"Hey, I suffer for my fashion!"

"Ladies…why don't you take a small break while John and I look at the last two rooms, all right?" The two girls nodded eagerly in agreement. "John, you'll take the room on the left and I'll check the one over there on the right?"

"Okay…" The closer John got to the door, he could tell someone was in that room. He could hear faint sounds coming from inside – a television was on. He knocked softly, calling out, "Logan? You in there?"

The moment he started knocking, the television noises stopped and everything became deathly quiet.

"Anything?" Hank asked, walking over to where John had his ear pressed against the door.

"There's definitely somebody in there." John knocked again, harder and more insistent. "Logan!"

"What's he doing in there?" Rogue asked, coming up behind John. "Logan! It's Rogue! Why are you in there?"

Jubilee got to her feet and came over to the door also. "Wolve-y! Why are you hiding?" Jubilee said in her sing-songy voice. She turned to Rogue and John. "Ironic, isn't it? Instead of the innocent children hiding from the big bad wolf, it's the other way around."

"Innocent, my ass!" Logan yelled from the other side of the door.

"A-ha! Confirmation!" Jubilee pumped her fist in the air.

Rogue rolled her eyes, ignoring Jubilee, and turned her attention back to the closed door. "What are you doing in there, Logan?"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing in here? I'm hiding out!"

"From what?" Rogue asked.

"From what she asks… From Jubilee! From the Professor! From everybody! Did ya really think I was going to let people see me like this? I look like I swallowed an entire freaking sofa set! I can't even take the damn thing off without the Professor knowing about it…"

Jubilee started laughing hysterically.

"Jubilee! Not helping!" Rogue said sternly. Jubilee didn't stop laughing but covered her mouth with both of hands to keep from making too much noise. "Logan, you can't stay in there forever. You're gonna have to come out to…uh…eat! Yeah, to eat!"

The four people in the hallway could hear Logan snort loudly from inside the room. "Don't worry about me. I'm all stocked up."

"So that's why he was in the kitchen…" John whispered to no one in particular. "And why there wasn't anything in the fridge or the cabinets the next morning…"

"He took everything from the kitchen?" Hank whispered back.

"Even took the baking soda for some reason…"

"Never mind about that!" Rogue said, exasperated. "Logan! How long do you think you can last in there?"

"I got food, I got plenty to drink, I got television – I think I'm all set."

"Do you think we can cut his power?" Rogue whispered to Hank.

"I'm pretty sure that would mean no power for some part of the mansion…all those wires are connected to something or another."

"Damn…" Rogue turned to John. "Think of something, John!"

"Um…well, let's see…he's got his basic necessities… Hmm…"

"Don't think too hard there, Johnny-boy, I can see steam coming out from your head," Jubilee snickered.

He ignored her smart-aleck comment, thinking carefully. "I got it!" John banged on the door. "Hey, Logan! How many rolls of toilet paper you got in there?"

The silence seemed to stretch on forever and then they could hear the squeaking of another door being opened from inside the room. They heard Logan opening cabinets, rustling things aside. "Shit!"

"Yeah, literally!" Jubilee yelled through the door, laughing loudly.

* * *

It was still another two days before Logan finally did come out of that room.

Of course, he made sure it was the middle of the night and almost everyone was asleep when he came out. He avoided the TV room where he knew Jones would be watching one infomercial after another and the med lab where he knew Hank would be up late working out another formula or carrying out another experimentation and, most definitely, he avoided going anywhere near Scott's bedroom or any other room Scott might frequent during the night.

Logan slinked his way through the corridors, pausing now and then to make sure they were empty. But as he was rounding a corner, he collided with another person who spilt the hot chocolate he had been carrying all over Logan. Cookies went flying through the air.

"What the hell…" John started then his attention turned to the now empty mug and plate. "Goddamnit! It took me twenty minutes to make this damn hot chocolate just the way she likes it! What's your prob…" He stopped mid-sentence as he realized just who he had collided with.

Logan's healing abilities were already mending his scalded skin and he thought he could have made a fast exit without John actually seeing anything but fate was not on his side this night. Logan took a step back to make his getaway and stepped right onto a fallen cookie, losing his footing and falling backwards, flailing arms and all. If it wasn't for John's surprised reaction to seeing Logan at this time of night and in that 'condition,' he would have laughed at Logan's comedic pratfall.

"Uh…are you all right?" John finally said, hovering over Logan as he continued to lie on his back.

"What's going on? I heard a crash and…" Rogue skidded to a stop, avoiding tripping over the fallen Wolverine. "Logan?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm lying in a puddle of a now lukewarm chocolate drink with broken cookies digging into the backs of my legs and arms, wondering where my dignity ran off to. Oh yeah, now I remember, my dignity left a long time ago on a one-way trip to Humiliation-ville with a stop at Mortification Town."

Rogue bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at Logan's sorrowful tone of voice. "It's…it's not that bad, Logan. You look…you just look like you put on some weight."

She was going to say more but she then heard footsteps approaching. "I told you… There was some sort of noise…"

"And you just had to wake me up because…"

"Hey, you're bigger and stronger than me, Peter. You really want it on your conscience if some wack-job came here and did bodily harm to your favorite person in the whole wide world?"

"Jubilee, what the hell makes you think…"

"Oh my fucking God!! Wolvie? That you?" Jubilee exclaimed, her eyes as big as saucers.

"If you even make one crack, Jubilee, I swear to God, I'll shred all of those precious designer clothes you have stuffed in your closet."

Jubilee held up her hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "Hey…I didn't say anything. No need to threaten my babies…uh…no pun intended…"

There was an uncomfortable silence – Logan still lying on his back and the four teenagers just standing over him, trying not to openly stare at Logan's bulging belly.

"You look like you swallowed a sofa set!" Peter blurted out.

And with that, no one could contain their laughter any longer as Logan blushed deeply.

* * *

A/N: I think there's going to be only three more chapters to this story and I'm still undecided on whether they should have a boy or a girl so let me know what you guys think! Little baby boy Ryro or little baby girl Ryro?


	8. Freak Out!

"Come on, we have to go…NOW!"

John looked up startled from his bowl of cereal and Rogue was in the middle of putting a piece of bacon into her mouth when Jubilee came barging over to where they having breakfast.

"Are you guys suddenly deaf? We have to go NOW! Before Logan finds me!"

"Jubilee, calm down. Here, sit. Have a piece of bacon." Rogue pushed her plate of eggs and bacon toward her clearly agitated friend.

"NO! No bacon! No waiting! We have to go!"

"Jubilee! What's going on?" Rogue tugged Jubilee down into a chair next to her. "Is everything okay with you and Logan?"

"Is everything okay?! Is everything okay?!" Jubilee was getting more and more hysterical by the minute. "The man is driving me fucking nuts!! He's getting back at me for aggravating him before all this shit hit the fan but fucking hell! I never put him through this kind of tortured crap!! Did you know that he made me get up in the middle of the night and drive to ten different grocery stores until I found the right brand of frozen yogurt? And when I came back, he didn't even eat it?! And then…and then!! he made me give him back massages and wash his filthy feet! And I'm pretty sure he buried his feet in Ms Munroe's compost pile beforehand too because I seriously was going to pass out from the fucking stench! And because I hid his cigars and booze, he had my caffeine supply cut off! Saying that I had to 'share in the experience'! What the fuck?! I have to experience this shit and I don't even get to have sex?! I mean if I'm going to tend to this moronic half-assed pregnant toolbag and give up my coffee and soda and, oh my God, my large caramel Frappuccinos, I want to have at least one night of mind-blowing sex too!!"

Jubilee was completely unaware her rather loud outburst had silenced _everybody_ in the dining hall – she was too busy taking quick nervous glances at the entryway, making sure Logan didn't appear there, her left leg shaking uncontrollably up and down as she bit at her fingernails.

* * *

Jubilee had calmed down tremendously once the mansion was out of sight.

She was going back to her natural surroundings – like an animal being released back into the wild. She was going back to…the mall.

First stop was Starbucks, of course – Jubilee salivated at the sight of her Frappuccino. After Jubilee was sufficiently satisfied with her level of caffeine, they headed over to their main destination.

John, Rogue, Jubilee (who was making loud slurping noises as she sucked on her second cup of Frappuccino), Kitty, Peter, Pietro, and Wanda stood in awe at the entrance to Baby Empire – the store's motto being 'If You Can't Find Everything for Your Baby Here, You Don't Need It.'

"Um…okay, Dr Grey gave me a list of things we should register you for," Kitty said, pulling the list out of her totebag. "Why don't we split up? We can got a lot more done that way and we won't bicker over who gets to test drive the strollers." Kitty ripped the paper into sections, handing them out to each person.

"No! No splitting up! No getting done faster! I don't want to go back to Logan's stinkin' feet!" Jubilee complained.

"Jubilee, calm down. I just said we would get through the list faster, I didn't say anything about leaving the mall itself. I want to find some dangly earrings for this new top I bought…oh my God, Jubes, it's so cute! It has this pink design…" Kitty stopped herself when she realized that she had been dangerously veering off the real reason they were even at the mall. "But anyways…that's all for afterwards… Um…so yeah, we'll split up. Each of us will go over a section of the store and scan in what we find for the baby registry. And, boys…and Jubilee…" Kitty looked at her friend pointedly. "…the scan guns are for the registry, they're not toys. So please don't go around trying to blast each other with them. Okay, it's go time, people! Let's move! Move!"

* * *

John was trying to figure out which blanket was better – the fleece or the cotton, maybe the knitted one with the Winnie the Pooh design, or the one with little elephants and giraffes, or…

"Trying to figure out which one the kid would like, huh?"

John was startled out of his thoughts for a moment. He looked up and found a middle-aged couple – the woman clearly pregnant – staring at him with amusement. They looked like they stepped out of a Christian book catalog. The woman was wearing a long shapeless dress with prim ruffles around her neck while the man wore a striped cardigan with khakis. John wondered briefly if they came over to talk to him about God and how He might save his soul.

"What?"

"I would go with the one with the little animals on them. That's what we bought and we just know our little princess is going to love it!" the woman said enthusiastically. "Are you expecting too?"

John shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Um…not me, my girlfriend."

The couple let a gasp of surprise but recovered quickly, only to laugh uncontrollably at John's comment. "Oh, he's a joker, dear."

"Oh, yes, he is, honey," the woman said, smiling widely at her husband. She turned her attention back to John who just wanted to get away and as quickly as possible. "I guess I meant to say is how far along is your girlfriend?"

"Um…she's seven and a half months now…"

"Oh, how precious!" John thought it was more than a little weird that two complete strangers were so extremely excited about someone else's pregnancy. "So do you know what you're having?"

"Uh…we don't know…"

"So you're going to be surprised at the delivery? How precious! Isn't it precious, honey?"

"Completely precious, dear," the man nodded. "Well, we found out as soon as possible. Then we planned the room accordingly, didn't we, dear?"

"Pink and purple…just what every girl's bedroom should be painted! It's so precious!" the woman gleefully shared. John felt like he was going to throw up if they said 'precious' one more time. "Oh, honey, we should tell him about what we learned at the baby seminar."

"Of course! Of course! Everyone needs to a little helpful tip now and then, right?" The man winked at John in a playful manner. "Well, let's see… Baby proofing your house is key. You should check all the batteries in your smoke alarms and definitely the carbon monoxide detectors. Electrical outlets need to be covered. You shouldn't leave stuffed toys and fluffy blankets in the crib overnight either. They're choking hazards."

"Don't forget about the blinds, honey. Those blind strings could cause strangulation."

"Right…right… All your baby clothes should be either velcro or snap-ons. A baby could tear off a button and choke on that too. And zippers are a definite no-no. What else? What else? How far along did you say your girlfriend is?"

"Uh…seven and a half…"

"Right. Hmm…you should probably refrain from having sex now."

"What?!" John wasn't sure what shocked him more – hearing that he had to refrain from having sex or hearing the actual word 'sex' coming out of this man's mouth.

"At the seminar, they told us that, at the latest, you could safely have sex for the first five months and then after that, you might disturb the fetus. One of the lecturers told us a story that involved a couple who lost their baby because of how much sex they had."

"Absolutely horrifying!" the woman exclaimed, her hands resting over her belly protectively.

"Completely agree, dear. That's why we now sleep in separate beds. No temptation then. We need to do everything we can for the baby, right, son?" The man slapped John's back so hard, John took a couple of unintentional steps forward.

"Oh no, honey, it's almost noon! We're going to be late!"

"I guess we'll have to look at the baby mobiles some other time then." The man turned back to John, smiling brightly. "Well, it was nice talking to you. I hope everything works out for you and your girlfriend!"

The couple hurried off, leaving behind a flabbergasted and bewildered John behind.

* * *

"John… John… JOHN!"

He stopped what he was doing and looked at Rogue who was sitting on her side of the bed, watching him. "What?"

"Why do we need all these pillows?"

He just grunted a response, going back to what he was doing. He couldn't look at her…it was…what was the word they used?...temptation.

"Are you…are you building a wall? In the middle of the bed?"

Rogue didn't know what to make of this new situation. Ever since they got back from the baby store, it was like something had taken over his body. The moment they stepped back into their room, the first thing he did was check every single one of the electrical outlets. Then he went bezerk when he realized there was only one smoke alarm in their room and no carbon monoxide detector at all. He kept muttering 'no buttons, no choking' under his breath over and over again. And now this? This Berlin Wall of pillows in the middle of their bed?

"John? What's going on?" She put a hand over his, making him stop.

"Nothing…nothing… Um…listen, I think we should sleep…you know…separately until the baby comes. I think it would be safer that way."

"What are you talking about?"

"I met this couple at the store…they told me about some things…" John cleared his throat nervously, pulling away and rearranging the pillows. "I think…I think it would be better this way. You know…safer…"

"Safer? From what? And who was this couple you talked to? Why were they talking to you?"

"Rogue, please! I just…I just want the baby to be okay, all right?"

Rogue looked at him. He looked disturbed about something… "All right." She'll agree to go along with him…for now…

* * *

John woke in the middle of the night, feeling a warm breath at his neck. He looked down and saw that Rogue had somehow managed to roll herself over the pillows. She was right against him, an arm carelessly thrown across his chest. She looked like she was still asleep so as gently as he could, he pushed off from the bed, making sure not to disturb her. He managed to extricate himself from the tangle of bedsheets and limbs, grabbed a pillow and laid down on the floor.

* * *

He woke again when he heard her muttering about blue monsters and cookies. He was still on the floor but she was sleeping next to him again. She had managed to snuggle close, covering both of them with a blanket.

The first time, he thought it was a fluke – just an unconscious move on her part. But now? There was no way she had rolled off the bed, falling to the floor with the blanket, landing – what a coincidence! – right beside him. It was time for drastic measures.

He pried loose her fingers from his shirt and scooted back from her. He lifted her up and laid her back down on the bed. He grabbed the pillow from the floor before leaving the bedroom. He made his way toward the common room and plopped himself onto one of the larger couches.

* * *

It was the sunlight streaming in through the French doors that woke him this time. But that didn't mean he was alone.

He had to admit: the girl was persistent.

There she was again, curled up against him, one hand on his chest and the other resting on his hip. She was sleeping…or she was pretending to be.

"You know, for a girl in your condition, you shouldn't be moving around so much during the night."

He saw the corners of her mouth kick up then she slowly opened her eyes.

He sighed heavily. "You couldn't humor me for one night?"

"Nope."

"Rogue…"

"John, this is silly. Whatever those people said to you, they're wrong."

"I don't think they were wrong. They were right about a lot of other stuff – the smoke alarms and the carbon monoxide detectors and the choking hazards…"

"John…"

"Rogue…"

"We're starting this now?"

"Starting what?"

"The childish name calling."

"So what are you trying to say? You don't want to be called Rogue?"

"John…"

"No-name…"

"I'm trying to be serious here!" Rogue placed a finger on John's lips, shushing him quiet. "No, I get to say what I want to say first. I don't like it that a couple of strangers, however nice and sincere they might have been, suddenly made you feel this way. I like it when we're lying in bed and you put your hands on my stomach and the baby starts to kick. I like it when you sing 'Bootylicious' to the baby when you think I'm still sleeping. And I especially like it when I wake up next to you in the mornings and you're all warm and squishy."

John arched a brow. "Squishy?"

"Yeah…" Rogue grabbed at his sides, pulling him close. "Squishy…" She paused for a moment. "Can we re-think this sleeping rearrangement? Please?"

"I don't know… I was just getting used to the idea of not having to wake up with you hogging all the covers."

"John…"

He smirked and leaned in to kiss her silent.

* * *

A/N: I still need people voting for baby girl or baby boy Ryro. It's neck-and-neck so far…


	9. Baby Shower Blues

Rogue took a sip of her orange juice, watching from the corner of her eye as Jubilee came into the common room. Jubilee rifled through some of the cabinets before pulling out some construction paper and streamers. She tripped over the loose ends of streamers that became entangled between her legs as she tried to hurry out the room.

"You okay there, Jubes?" Rogue called out from where she was sitting by the windows.

"Uh…yeah…I'm fine." Jubilee straightened then literally hopped out the room, the streamers still firmly entangled.

As she left, John came in, chuckling at Jubilee's little dance down the corridor. He came over to where Rogue was sitting, handing her a plate of sliced melon. "Do you think we should just tell them we know about the party?"

"No, it'll ruin the surprise."

"It's not exactly under-the-radar, you know. I saw Peter unloading crates of soda and water outside and you know what he told me? He was feeling a little dehydrated."

Rogue almost choked on the melon she had been chewing. "He was always the worse liar."

"And Kitty tried to hide this gigantic cake behind her back when I caught her in the kitchen last night. She kept denying that there was this four-tiered white frosted cake behind her on the counter."

"Oooo! There's going to be cake?"

John rolled his eyes. "Rogue…"

Rogue giggled. "I'm kidding. I think we should just remain pleasantly ignorant of the fact that they're all trying to throw us a surprise baby shower."

* * *

"SURPRISE!"

"Oh my God…you guys…this is too much…"

If John had the ability to hand out Oscar awards for outstanding acting performances, he would definitely give one to Rogue for the performance she was putting on right then. He couldn't believe how easily she convinced everybody how genuinely surprised she was.

"Well, don't just stand there in the doorway like a couple of slack-jawed yokels…" Jubilee teased, pulling both John and Rogue into the outlandishly decorated dining hall. "We were going to just have it in the rec room since the stereo and the couches were already in there but then more people wanted to come so we had to move it in here. Isn't it awesome? I did the decorations!"

Rogue had to bit her lip from laughing because it would have been obvious to anyone who knew Jubilee for even a micro-second that she had done the decorations. The room was filled with yellow streamers and balloons and table clothes and banners – even the flowers she had picked out were yellow daisies.

"It's wonderful, Jubes. I love it," Rogue told her friend.

"I didn't want to seem bias about what the baby might be…you know, boy or girl…so I just used yellow. It seems relatively neutral, right?"

"Very Jubilee neutral. Even Switzerland would love it." Rogue didn't know how long she could keep her straight face – John had no such qualms and was already doubled over laughing. She was very glad when other people started to come over to congratulate them on the baby.

* * *

"I can't believe what Logan is making us do!" Kitty exclaimed. Kitty and Jubilee were walking back to the party from Logan's room, carrying what seemed like a ten-ton gift-wrapped box.

"Kitty, I've had to rub that man's feet for the past two weeks. You've nothing to complain about yet," Jubilee said from her side of the box she was holding.

"Why couldn't he have gotten Peter to do this?" Kitty panted. "He could have carried this monstrosity without breaking into a sweat."

"Will you quit complaining? We're almost there." They had made it back only to find the entrance blocked by someone. "Bobby! Get out of the way, you dingus!"

Bobby turned abruptly, finding a gigantic box in his face. "Oh sorry!" He moved out of their way and let them pass through into the room.

"Thanks for your help!" Jubilee yelled sarcastically. "Let the two girls carry the damn thing! It's not heavy at all!"

Bobby just stared at her, his forehead furrowed with confusion.

"Did he get stupid overnight or something?" Jubilee asked as they set the box next to the gift table.

"Ask me again when my heart stops pounding." Kitty was slumped over, her hand on her chest trying to catch her breath.

Rogue came over to where the two girls were huffing and puffing. "Where'd you guys go?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "His highness, Lord Logan, called us away. Apparently, he's too shy to bring his baby gift down himself and so we had to do it for him… Not to ruin the surprise but he bought you that damn baby crib you registered for. He just had to buy you the most expensive thing on that damn registry, didn't he?" She paused, looking toward the doorway they had just come through. Bobby was still standing there, hovering over the threshold. "What the hell is he doing?"

"Who?" Rogue turned to where Jubilee was looking.

"Bobby…he's just standing there…"

"Was he invited?"

"Rogue,_ everybody_ was invited…"

"Ladies…" Pietro came over to where the three girls were contemplating the hovering Bobby. There was a sly smile on Pietro's face that distracted the girls. It was a smile they had come to know well and it usually meant trouble. "We're about to play some games. Want to join in?"

"What are you guys playing?" Jubilee asked skeptically.

He leaned over, his mouth close to Jubilee's ear as he whispered the answer. Rogue and Kitty could see Jubilee's eyes widen in shock.

"Come on over if you want to play." Pietro walked away, laughing loudly.

"Pietro! Come back here!" Jubilee ran after him. "You can't play truth or dare at a baby shower! We're not playing that! We've already got games set up!"

Rogue and Kitty giggled together.

Bobby was still standing by the doorway, already forgotten.

* * *

Logan came downstairs, reassured that everyone would be distracted by the baby shower to notice that he had come out of his room. He had grown somewhat comfortable with the bulging belly but not confident enough to go wandering through the mansion willy-nilly.

He headed toward the kitchen because all Jubilee left for him was a cheese sandwich and a glass of water. He made a mental note to himself to wake Jubilee up at 4 a.m. to make him a quiche.

He was going to make a quick sprint across the doorway of the dining hall when he accidentally knocked someone over.

"Bobby?" Logan looked at the sprawled boy on the floor. "What are you doing?"

Bobby got on his feet quickly, keeping his eyes from straying to what Jubilee had been calling Logan's 'smooshy-Pillsbury-doughboy-hee-hee area.' "I'm just…I'm just observing things…"

"Observing things? Why aren't in there with the rest of them? Wasn't everybody invited to this shindig?"

"Um…yeah…basically…"

"So what's the problem?"

"Well…um…" Bobby tried to search for the words to answer him. His eyes strayed to where Rogue was sitting at a table, smiling when John came over with a plateful of food for her. She was always hungry, eating practically anything these days.

"It looks like everybody's having a good time," Logan mused aloud, interrupting Bobby's thoughts.

Bobby tore his eyes away from the couple – everyone did look like they were having a good time. Jubilee was laughing hysterically over something that had made the usually unflappable Pietro blush like a ripe tomato. Kitty was daintily nibbling on a yellow frosted cupcake as Sam and Dominic were scarfing down stuffed mushrooms like they were going out of style. Peter, Siryn, and Wanda were looking on as Jones got spun around and around by Storm and Warren to play 'pin the diaper on the baby.' Jean was busy putting a silly party hat on the Professor's head as Scott and Hank were trying to repress their girlish giggles.

Bobby's eyes, though, went back the two people sitting at a table together.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No offense but I'd rather not talk about my feelings about this whole John-Rogue-baby situation with you."

"What the hell did I do?"

"You haven't exactly been shy about letting me know what you thought of me as her boyfriend. And do you want me to remind you how you reacted when you thought I was the father of her baby and how you reacted when you found out it was _his_ instead?"

Logan gave him a sheepish look. "Err…well…yeah… Sorry about that…" He cleared his throat, trying to search for a way to make amends. "Look, I know our…erm…'relationship' hasn't been the best but I'm still here if you want to…you know…talk. And not just because everybody else is in that room you seem reluctant to enter."

Logan couldn't believe what he was saying. He was never one to want or need to hear about other people's problems, especially the emotional kind. Must be the fake hormones Jubilee's always complaining that I have, he thought. He gave himself a mental shake then moved away from the doorway. He hoped there were enough of those stuffed mushrooms for him, when he heard Bobby call out, "I don't know where I stand with them anymore."

Logan turned around to look at Bobby who was still staring at where John and Rogue were sitting. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't know if I'm even anything to them anymore. He's got his old friends to hang out with now – they're always doing things together. And she's…she's got him… And I just don't know where I fit in."

"The dynamics might have changed but you're still their friend."

"And I'm just going to have to accept that my former best friend stole away my girlfriend?" Bobby scoffed.

Logan sighed, giving Bobby his exasperated look, the one that he usually reserved for Jubilee. "If you're going to keep thinking of it that way, then no, you're never going to accept it. And you're never going to know where you fit in either." Logan paused, unsure how Bobby might react to brutal honesty but there was no other way to get the boy to realize that things weren't going to go back to where they used to be. "She loves him. He makes her happy. They're happy. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll know where you stand with them."

Bobby sucked in a breath like he had just been punched in the stomach. Bobby didn't say anything. He watched as John helped Rogue to her feet, holding both of her hands, her pregnant belly thrust forward.

"I'm sure they didn't want to hurt you, Bobby. They care about you too…" Logan had to give himself another mental shake. _Damn fake hormones…they're turning me into some kind of girly-man._ He glanced over only to find that Bobby was gone.

* * *

"Open my present! Open my present!" Jubilee exclaimed, jumping up and down with the present in her hands.

"Okay, okay…" Rogue said. Jubilee handed her friend the box and watched as Rogue's fingers tore at the ribbon and wrapping. "Oh my God, Jubes… It's adorable!"

Rogue held up a stuffed doll version of what everyone could see was Wolverine, even down to his little claws (made out of cloth and stuffing, of course) and X-Men uniform and his trademark sneer.

"I had a good model to sit for me," Jubilee said cheekily.

"You made it yourself?" John asked incredulously.

"No, I bought it at the Wolverine gift shop. Yeah, of course, I made it, you doof! You wanna see my thumb where I kept pricking myself with the damn needle?"

"Here… Open mine next…" Rogue and John were both a little more than surprised to see Bobby standing in front of them, a gift-wrapped box held out in Bobby's hands. "It's…uh…not much but I thought you guys might like it."

"Thanks, Bobby," Rogue murmured, taking the present from Bobby. She unwrapped it to find a copy of _Goodnight, Moon_ inside.

"My mom used to read that me when I was little…or at least, that's what she told me. It's a good book…probably will help when it's time to go to sleep, right?" Bobby chuckled nervously, knowing that everybody's eyes were on him. He shuffled his feet, not knowing what else to do or say.

"You should try those stuffed mushrooms… Sam won't shut the hell up about them," John said, steering Bobby toward the table where the hors d'oeuvres were set up.

"It's like a party in your mouth! And everyone's invited!" Sam yelled out. "They're that good!"

* * *

The baby shower was still going in full force when Kitty saw Rogue dragging John out of the room.

"Hey, Jubes…did they get into a fight or something?"

Jubilee laughed. "No, no… Someone made the mistake of bringing a pie."

"A pie?"

"Yep, a pie. An apple pie…"

Kitty could only look at Jubilee in confusion, not knowing what Jubilee was finding to be so hilarious.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the emo-ness of Bobby in this chapter but it was one of the loose ends I wanted to clear up before the next (and final!) chapter. And I've decided now on what the sex of the baby (or maybe it's 'babies'…or maybe not…) so stay tuned… ;)


	10. Time for What?

"Okay, so panel A should slide into panel C. Attach both panels with screw #4 which should be in bag marked MZ. Got that?"

"Bobby, you lost me when you said panel A."

Bobby looked up from the manual he had been reading aloud to John. He found his friend sitting on the floor, holding up three wooden slats in his hands, all of the slats clearly marked 'panel B.'

The two boys were working in John and Rogue's new room, which had an adjoining smaller room that was going to be the baby's. Their old bedroom looked like a baby store had exploded in it – everything, including the bed and the floors and even the bathtub, were covered in nothing but toys and clothes for the baby. Bobby thought it was a miracle that they found space to even sit.

"I can't find this so-called panel A," John complained. "Fucking Summers. Couldn't spend the extra hundred bucks to have someone put this thing together for us? What is this piece of crap suppose to be anyways? Does the baby need it?"

"Unless you plan on changing your baby's diapers on your lap then yes, you need a changing table, John. Look, why don't you…" Bobby was cut off when Jubilee came rushing into the room.

"Oh my fucking God! John! You gotta come quick!" She grabbed John by the front of his shirt and dragged him away.

"Jesus Christ… Jubilee! Stop fucking man-handling me!"

"What's going on?" Bobby asked, following close behind.

"It's Rogue… She's…"

John became suddenly serious, no longer caring that Jubilee's grip on his shirt was also digging into his skin. "Is she all right? Did something happen?"

"She's…" That was all Jubilee got out before the three of them skidded to a stop in front of John and Rogue's old bedroom. The door was closed but Pietro was standing in front of it, banging with his fist. Kitty and Wanda were standing nearby, Kitty biting on her finger nervously.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way, Rogue!" Pietro yelled through the door.

"You called me a waddling duck! How else did you mean it?" Rogue yelled back from inside the room. After a moment's pause, she also added with enthusiasm, "Jerk!"

"Jesus Christ, when did she get so sensitive?" Pietro muttered, dragging a hand through his hair.

Wanda stepped forward and whacked her brother upside of the head. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"What?" Pietro rubbed where he just got hit, a hurt expression on his face.

"God, Pietro, you are so fricking obtuse, you know that? I can't believe that we're even related! Do you even have a clue what carrying a baby does to a girl's body?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Never mind about that right now!" Jubilee shoved Pietro out of the way. She gingerly knocked on the door. "Rogue? It's Jubilee. John's here too."

"John?"

"Yeah…I'm here, Rogue. Can I come in?" There was a moment of silence then they heard the door's lock click open.

Jubilee turned the knob but before she actually opened the door, John grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Uh…maybe I should go in first."

"Oh…right…" Jubilee grumbled. She hated being left out of anything but she knew when to stand back and keep her opinions to herself, unlike a certain speedster.

John went into the room and shut the door again. He turned around, expecting to see Rogue sitting on the bed but instead she launched herself into his arms. The momentum threw John off-guard, making him stumble back against the door with a heavy thump.

There was rapid knocking from outside. "Rogue? John? You okay?" Jubilee asked.

John straightened as best as he could with a heavily pregnant girl in his arms. "Uh…yeah… Everything's fine."

"You don't think I'm a waddling duck, right?" Rogue looked up at him, biting her lip in concern.

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Really?"

"Rogue, you're the most drop-dead gorgeous girl I've ever met. No other girl or woman on this earth can hold a candle to you, everyone else pales in comparison. You are the epitome of perfection. I couldn't even begin to imagine anyone more beautiful than you."

Rogue smiled shyly, playing with his shirt lapels. She practically glowed with satisfaction but didn't to want appear too egotistical. "Really?"

"Really." He smiled back, holding her gently.

She was content to bask in the warmth of his words and his arms when they both heard someone softly knocking.

"Hey, 'Dyce…" Pietro whispered through the door. "Mind if I borrow that little speech sometime? Next time I get into girl-trouble, it could really help me out." Before John or Rogue could reply back with a smart-aleck remark, they could hear someone being slapped around multiple times. "Ow! Jubilee! Kitty! Wanda! Stop hitting me!"

* * *

Rogue and Jubilee were walking down the hallway toward their next class together.

"I'm telling you! He's so totally hot!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"Are you serious? You are seriously telling me that you have a crush on Paul Giamatti?"

"Hello? Have you seen _Sideways_?"

"Jubilee, you're so…" Rogue stopped in her tracks, gasping in surprise and clutching her stomach with one of her hands. "Oh my God…"

Jubilee turned to her friend, grabbing Rogue by the arm. "What? What is it?"

"I think…I think my water just broke…"

"Is she leaking?" Rogue and Jubilee both looked up to find Jones standing before them, pointing to the puddle around Rogue's feet.

There was a small crowd forming around them, wondering what was going on.

"Jubes, I think the baby's coming…" Rogue whispered before gasping again, this time in pain.

Jubilee snapped out her daze, Rogue's words finally sinking into her brain. "Oh, Jesus… People! Move! Move! Get the fuck out of the way! Baby train is pulling into the station! MOVE!" Jubilee started roughly shoving people against the walls, making a path toward the elevator to the med lab.

"Jubilee! What's going on?" Siryn called out. Jones was standing next to her, looking at the two girls in the elevator with worry.

"Jones, Siryn, you guys have to go find John! Tell him it's time!" Jubilee yelled before the elevator doors closed.

* * *

John was in algebra class, trying to figure out what the fuck polynomials were. Then Jones and Siryn came bursting into the room, almost getting jammed in the doorway when they both tried running in at the same time.

"Jones? Siryn? What is it?" Scott asked, pausing mid-motion while writing on the whiteboard.

"John! You have to come! Quickly!" Siryn cried out.

"Rogue…leaking…" Jones panted, his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Leaking?" John was completely confused. "What?"

"Leaking! Leaking! She was leaking!" Jones said, his arms flailing. "Jubilee said it was time!"

John was still lost. "Time for what?"

"Dumbass! She's having the baby!" Siryn exclaimed.

"Having the baby? Oh my fucking God, she's having the baby!" John shoved out of his seat, knocking the chair over which in turn knocked over the desk behind him which knocked over another chair and so on and so forth… "Where? Where is she?"

"Med lab… Come on!" Jones grabbed one of John's hands, Siryn the other, and they all ran out of the classroom together.

The entire time they ran, Jones could hear John mutter under his breath, "Oh fuck…fuck…fuck…fuck…fuck…"

The elevator ride down to the med lab seemed like an eternity to John. Jones and Siryn were quiet the entire time, knowing John's nerves were already on edge by the impatient tapping of his foot and the slightest provocation meant certain death by fire.

Finally, the bell dinged to signal they had arrived.

"Holy fucking shit! Finally!" Jubilee came running over, shoving blue medical scrubs into John's arms. "Hurry up! Dr McCoy said she's already dilated like a gajillion centimeters! He thinks it's going to be a quickie delivery! Hurry up! Hurry up!"

John stumbled through the swinging doors, disappearing from sight.

* * *

"Where's John? I'm not having this baby without him!" Rogue wailed, her face already drenched with sweat. "Where is he? He's supposed to be here! Stop looking at that goddamn monitor and go find him, McCoy!!"

And just at the right time, John came through the doors, tying the drawstrings of his scrub pants together. "I'm here! I'm here!"

"Oh thank God…" Hank sighed with relief, nothing he had been doing was calming Rogue down.

"John!" Rogue held out a hand to him, which he grasped tightly. "John…I'm scared…"

"It's okay… It's okay…" He leaned to kiss the top of her head.

"It's all happening so fast. I thought we would have at least a couple of hours. You know, Jubilee would take a million pictures while we waited and you would feed me ice chips… This is too fast. I thought the delivery was suppose to be hard…all the books said so…"

"People do have quick deliveries, Rogue," Hank said gently.

"Oh, what the hell do you know?" Rogue snapped at him.

"I'm just going to go see if Dr Grey's ready, all right?" Hank made a quick exit, not wanting to be the target of Rogue's labor-induced wrath anymore.

Rogue grimaced with pain as another contraction occurred, her face turning red as she squeezed the living daylights out of John's hand. He had to bite his lip from screaming with his own pain. Once the contraction passed, she loosened her grip. "I don't think I can do this, John… I don't want to do this anymore…"

"Rogue…I think it's a little late to go back now…" John tried to see if his hand was still functioning properly. As soon as he could feel the blood flow through his hand again, another contraction happened and she squeezed even harder, screaming in pain.

"Oh, God, John, I didn't think anything could hurt this bad…"

"Me either…" John said, trying to extricate his hand from Rogue's but her grip only became firmer. He wondered briefly if he should have fed her all those fruits and vegetables during her pregnancy because she certainly didn't need any more nutrition. "Okay, Rogue, why don't we try those techniques Dr McCoy taught us in lamaze class, huh?"

Together, they started breathing deeply in and out. Rogue was trying to think good thoughts, calming thoughts. But then another contraction distracted her from thinking about anything remotely good or calm.

"Can we get a doctor in here?! Please!!" John yelled. He was almost certain he heard a bone breaking in his hand.

* * *

Logan stepped out of the elevator and into the med lab corridor. He found what seemed like the entire school waiting there.

"Logan! You're skinny again!" Jubilee said in surprise.

"That's what you have to say to me?" Logan asked, quirking an eyebrow. "The Professor let me off the hook. What's going with Rogue?"

"I don't know. Dr McCoy told me he thought it was going to be a quick delivery but it's been like ten million hours already. Mr Summers tried to go back there but Rogue kicked him out. Oh fucking my God, it was soooo hilarious… Everyone could hear her cursing him out. 'Get the fuck out, you stupid son of a bitch! Do you think this is some of fucking peep show, asshole!'" Jubilee chuckled. "Classic."

Logan looked over to where Scott was sitting. Scott looked like he was trying to hide between Peter and Dominic, hunching his shoulders to make himself appear smaller.

"Don't forget about the part when she started chucking things at him," Kitty added helpfully. Scott shot her a dirty look.

"Oh yeah, we heard things clanking around too while she was screaming at him and then Mr Summers came out with this big-ass cut on his forehead. It was so classic!"

Logan smirked. "So, Summers, what did she throw at you?"

"Damn plastic cup…" Scott mumbled.

"She threw a plastic cup that hard that it left a mark on your thick head?" Logan howled with laughter.

Scott was saved from further humiliation when Hank came through the swinging doors, looking exhausted but a big smile on his face.

"Well?" Jubilee asked anxiously. "Tell us, goddamnit!"

"Why don't you guys go back there and find out?" Hank said. Then he realized his mistake when people started pushing forward. "Wait! Wait! You can't all go in there! Just a few people at a time!"

* * *

Jubilee tiptoed into the room, Logan following her. She could see Rogue lying in bed, holding what looked like a bundle of blankets in her arms.

"Rogue?" Jubilee whispered.

"Hey… Come over here, you guys, I want you to meet someone…" Rogue smiled.

Jubilee thought she never she'd never seen her friend look so serene. Jubilee and Logan quietly stood by the bed as Rogue carefully shifted the bundle from one arm to the other.

"Logan…Jubilee…meet Matthew Allerdyce."

"Awww…Rogue… He's so adorable!" Jubilee said, her gaze softening at the sight of this tiny little human being sleeping, his tiny little fingers curled around his mother's finger. The baby yawned wide, his eyes opening briefly to reveal big blue eyes. "Oh my God, Rogue…he's like a mini-John…only without the lighter…and with chubbier cheeks…"

"Where is John anyways?" Logan asked when he was able to form words without choking up.

"Um…well, Dr Grey is bandaging him up…"

"What?" Jubilee and Logan asked at the same time, confusion marring their faces.

"Never mind about that right now. There's another surprise…" Rogue said with a mischievous grin. "Reason why the delivery took so long…"

"Oh my God! Did you guys have…" Jubilee's question hung in the air when John came back into the room holding another bundle in his arms. "Holy shi…I mean…holy moly! Twins?"

"She's already got John wrapped around her finger," Rogue said, laughing lightly as John came over to sit beside her on the bed. "Cried like Banshee when he tried putting her back in the bassinet."

"A boy and a girl?" Logan said in wonder.

John nodded. "We named her Claire. She looks just like her mother."

"Stop lying, John… Her eyes are blue like yours…"

They were quiet for a moment, enjoying the babies cooing to one another from their parents' arms.

Rogue looked up and found Logan's eyes glassy, distinct sniffling sounds were coming from him. "Logan? Are you crying?"

"What? Of course not!" Logan said, rubbing his eye furiously. "Just had something in my eye."

"Oh, Wolvie…you big softie…" Jubilee teased. Then she noticed John's hand peeking from under the blankets, wrapped up in bandages. "What happened to your hand, John?"

"Just a minor casualty during the delivery…" John grinned.

* * *

A/N: It's done! WOO!! I want to thank all my readers…especially to those of you who left me lovely reviews. Hugs and kisses to you all!


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